Located in the center of the town of Sapa , the Sapa Stone church built-in 1895 is considered an ancient architectural imprint of French integrity remains. The church has been embellished and preserved, becoming an indispensable image when referring to the misty Sapa town.
The church has many names due to the habits of people and tourists such as Sapa ancient stone church, Our Lady of the Rosary Church, stone church, … The church was built in the French colonial period, around the beginning of the 20th century. According to some records, the chosen church has a facade facing east, that is, the direction of sunrise. Someone explained that it was the direction of God’s light source. In the area where the bell tower, that is, the end of the poet, is turned west, is meant to be the birthplace of Christ. The church was built from hewn stone, following Roman Gothic architecture. The rock mold bonds are a mixture of sand, lime and molasses. The wall of the cross is designed to create a rough texture that makes the viewer feel like stalactites are flowing down, increasing natural beauty. Previously, the roof was made of straw lime, now renewed and tiled.
This regional stone church is the most complete remaining French architectural hallmark. This church is located right in the middle of the cruise town center. In front is a wide stadium. Everyday, ethnic people gather here to buy, sell and exchange goods.
This is also the place where every Saturday the boys and girls call out for friends in the love market full of ethnic culture and the breath of the Northwest mountains.
The Church of Our Lady of the Rosary is located on a prime location with the back of Ham Rong mountain shielding, in front is a large, flat land area, able to develop many cultural works for communal activities. The relic can be observed on all four sides, along with two other architectural works also built by the French, namely Chu Cau villa (now Hoang Lien hotel) and the old district party committee (now is headquarters of the Lao Cai Tourist Information Center) forms a balanced triangle with a distinct French-style architecture.
Choosing the direction of the church has an important spiritual significance for Catholics: The head of the monument turns to the East, is the direction of the rising sun, the direction to welcome the light of God. At the end of the church (the bell tower area) is the west, the birthplace of Christ.
The shape and architecture of the Church was built in the shape of a cross according to Roman Gotic architecture. The architecture shown in the roof, the bell tower, the dome … are the pyramids to create the elegant and elegant building. The entire church is built of hewn stone (walls, floor, bell tower, church yard, surrounding embankments) are linked together by a mixture of sand, lime and molasses. The wall of the right cross is roughened like stalactite flowing down to increase the natural beauty of the monument. Tiled roofs, ceilings are made of lime straw (now renewed). Especially the ceiling in the bell tower (near the bell) is a mixture of lime, straw, and iron, not yet repaired.
With a total area of the church’s campus of more than 6,000 m2, Sa Pa Church has enough room for the arrangement of areas including: Church area, parish house, house of priests, ranchers, house of angels. , front yard section, fence, Holy Garden. Row of parish houses built parallel to the church area includes 5 rooms.
The church area consists of 7 compartments wider than 500 m2, the bell tower section is 20 m high, the tower has a 1.5 m high bell, cast in 1932, weighs 500 kg, the echo is within a radius of nearly 1km. Currently, on the surface of the bell, there is still a clear casting record, the number of people donating money for the casting of the bell … The wooden bell holder remains the same after the restoration.
Rosary Church in the center of Sa Pa is the meeting point of many tourists on this land every time they have the opportunity to come here. Although through a number of restoration and renovation due to war and the devastation of nature, the church still retains the charm and soul of religious architecture.
History of Sapa stone church
Sapa stone church , also known with many different names such as Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, Sapa ancient church, … This work was designed and built by French architects in 1895. now 124 years old. Especially, this place has been recognized by a Vietnamese record organization as one of the five famous ancient churches with the age of over 100 years old, next to Hanoi Cathedral, Phat Diem stone church (Ninh Binh), the house. To worship Notre Dame (Ho Chi Minh City) and Phu Nhai Church (Nam Dinh).
Sapa stone church
Along with the ups and downs of history, Sa Pa stone church also underwent many events over time. In the early days of its establishment, the church always had priests on duty in the parish to serve parishioners. However, after the French lost control of Indochina, Japanese troops entered Vietnam and the Church’s religious and religious activities were halted. In the following years, our country was at constant war, people had to evacuate, others went to fight the enemy, so the parish was no longer active. For a long time the church was abandoned, then used to become a warehouse of rice or a school to teach people.
It was not until 1995 that the local government restored the church and the parish continued to function. However, it is only on the great occasion of the year that fathers come to celebrate and celebrate the sacraments of service to parishioners. After nearly 60 years without a parish priest, in May 2006, the ancient church of Sa Pa officially had a priest in charge and permanent residence. That same year the church carried out a second restoration of the roof and foundation to ensure the quality and safety here.
Today’s Sapa stone church
The unique architecture of Sapa stone church
Sapa stone church is located on Pham Xuan Huan street and is located in the center of Sapa town. Before the first foundation bricks were placed, French architects chose the terrain very carefully to carry out the construction with large and flat land in front, extremely convenient for development. cultural works serving social and community activities behind is the solid Ham Rong mountain as the fulcrum. In particular, the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary in combination with Chu Cau villa (Hoang Lien hotel today) and the old district party committee (headquarters of the Lao Cai Tourist Information Center) were built by the French into an ancient European-style balanced triangle in the misty Sapa town.
Panoramic view of Sapa stone church
The church was built facing the East, that is, the direction of the rising sun. In Christianity, this is the direction to receive the divine light. At the end of the church where the bell tower faces to the west is the birthplace of Christ. Due to the French design, the church has a luxurious and sophisticated European style. This place was built entirely from rock hewn in the shape of a cross of Roman Gotic architecture. Each line on the roof, dome or bell tower is the pyramid creating a European elegance.
The architecture inside the church is bold European
To be able to combine the stone molds together, people used a mixture of sand, lime and molasses. The wall on the right side of the church is roughened to enhance the natural beauty as if stalactites are flowing down, combined with stained-glass windows depicting the life of God. At the time of construction, the roof was made from straw lime. After two repairs, the simple roof has now been replaced with tiles. 
Its unique architecture helps to create stunning photos
With a total area of campus up to more than 6,000m2, Sa Pa stone churchIt is divided into zones including: The church area, the rectory, the priest’s house, the rancher, the angel house, the front yard, the Holy Garden and the surrounding fence. In which, the church area consists of 7 spaces with an area of about 500m2. Row of parish houses are built parallel to the church area. Section of the bell tower is 20m high, every time the bell rings, even if you are 1km away, you can still hear. In the tower hung a bell cast in 1932, 1.5m high, weighs 500 kg, on the surface still clearly indicated the number of people donating money for the bell. The structure of the angel house consists of a basement, three upper floors that are a place to cure sick people, overnight travelers, toilets and kitchen. Especially, in the holy garden, there are 5 Khao Vang trees with the lifespan of over a hundred years, of which 4 trees grow on the rock.
In winter, the church is covered with snow, creating a beautiful scene
The important significance of Sapa stone church
Sapa stone church is like a cultural symbol of the whole town. Through many ups and downs of history, the image of the church standing there still has imprinted on the subconscious of the people here. This is an important cultural work, where all parishioners gather and live each week. In front of the church is the spacious and airy courtyard, where ethnic people gather every day to exchange and exchange goods.
The bustling market scene in front of the church
Every weekend, this is also a place where special ethnic cultural activities take place. Every Saturday, around the church, echoes the screams of the boys and girls in the love market with bold ethnic culture and the breath of the Northwest mountains. That is why the cultural and tourism activities in the locality are extremely developed. Every year, the church attracts thousands of tourists to visit, bringing huge revenue to the locality. If you have traveled to Sapa , do not forget to visit the stone church here.
Photo: Internet